2023-05-27 21:41:00
Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region. Europa PressContactoMykhaylo P | EUROPAPRESS
The Ukrainian commander-in-chief shared the message on networks with a video of his soldiers praying and preparing for battle
27 may 2023 . Updated at 9:43 p.m.
“It’s time to take back what is ours.” This is the powerful message of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, el general Valeri Zaluzhniannouncing that his forces are ready to launch the long-awaited counteroffensiveafter months of preparations, including recent attacks on Russian logistics targets, and disinformation to confuse the enemy.
Zaluzhni shared his message on his Telegram account this Saturday, along with a video of Ukrainian soldiers preparing for battle while reciting a war-tinged prayer. The general he was missing for several weeks from public space, sparking speculation in Russia that he had been seriously injured and even died. His absence was also attributed to preparations for the counteroffensive.
The inevitable expansion of the war to Russia
Michelangelo Murado
Zaluzhny’s message is intended to encourage and unite a nation tired of fifteen months of war and increase anxiety within the Russian ranks.
The general’s announcement coincided with statements to the BBC by the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov, also announcing that the Ukrainian troops were prepared to launch the operation to recapture the territory occupied by the forces of President Vladimir Putin. He avoided giving a date, but said he could start “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”. “It would be strange to give a specific date», he explained. At the same time, Danilov warned that his government “has no right to make a mistake” in this decision because it is a “historic opportunity” that they cannot miss.
The statements by General Zaluzhni and Danilov come after senior Ukrainian officials, including the head of military intelligence, said in recent days that kyiv already has what it needs to launch the attack. Ukraine has spent months amassing a arsenal of Western-supplied weapons and training tens of thousands of soldiers in offensive maneuvers in their territory and also in different European countries. Military analysts point out that the counteroffensive will focus on the areas occupied by Russia in the southern and eastern Ukraine.
Russia intensified its air attacks and reinforced its lines on different fronts to stop the announced counteroffensive. This Saturday Russian assault planes and bombers attacked enemy positions in eastern and southern Ukraine, according to the daily report of the Defense Ministry spokesman, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
Russia expels hundreds of German diplomats and officials
JC Barrena Berlin / Colpisa
Hundreds of officials and employees of German institutions in Russia have been expelled from the country by order of the Moscow authorities in a new escalation in the worsening of relations between the Kremlin and Berlin, according to the Munich newspaper. southgerman newspaper and later confirmed by the Government. The measure affects diplomats accredited in Russia, but also teachers of the German School in the capital and personnel related to the cultural field such as employees of the different Goethe Institutes scattered throughout the Russian geography. The newspaper does not specify their number, but speaks of hundreds of those affected.
The office of the head of German diplomacy, the green Annalena Baerbock, pointed out that the decision to order these people of German nationality to leave the country was already taken in April by the Russian Foreign Ministry. He then introduced a limit of personnel from diplomatic representations and other German institutions accredited in the Russian Federation as of June.
“This limit requires major cuts in all areas of our presence in Russia,” advanced a German Foreign Affairs spokesman, who specified that from that date only about 350 people will be able to stay there.
retaliatory measure
Berlin considers the measure a retaliation for the attempt of the German government to get rid of those collaborators of the Russian secret services that act on German territory. disguised as diplomats. When several dozen of them had to leave Germany after being declared “persons not grateful» Last April, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the expulsion as a «hostile action» and announced consequences. Apparently, Moscow now accuses the German authorities of having sent twice as many personnel to Russia as the Kremlin has sent to Germany.
berlin does not rule out answering to that extent of the Kremlin. From now on the German Executive “will be vigilant so that a true balance is found in practice at the upper limit of the Russian presence in Germany.”
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